Chuck Pagano knows that the sword of Damocles is hanging over his head. He knows the statistics on cancer relapse, knows what it’s going to take to stay healthy for the rest of his life.

And yet, just a year removed from his leukemia diagnosis, which he received one year ago Wednesday, he lives without fear.

Just the opposite, in fact: He lives with unfettered joy.

Every day now is a gift.

Has been since Dr. Larry Cripe of the IU Health Simon Cancer Center declared he was in remission.

“I was talking to my wife (Tina on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning), and we were saying, it almost seems surreal that it’s been a year,’’ Pagano said. “Just the way things are going, how good I feel, I feel like it almost never happened. It’s crazy. It went so fast. Now, those first couple of months, it didn’t go fast when we were going through it (chemotherapy), but now it’s like it happened to somebody else.

“I know it’s always going to be there, but I feel so lucky, very lucky.’’

I wondered if he lives with any fear of relapse. Wouldn’t you? Wouldn’t you worry if you woke up feeling poorly one, two, three mornings in a row and worry, “My God, it’s happening again?’’

Pagano says he doesn’t.

He doesn’t have time to worry.

“You get so immersed in the task at hand,’’ he said. Then he laughed. “Now, do I look for bruises every now and then? Absolutely. And so does my wife.

“But no, no fear. I took my hands off the wheel a long time ago. Whatever’s going to happen is going to happen.’’

After Pagano returned to the Indianapolis Colts, he was told by doctors to watch himself, keep the hours reasonable — no small feat for an NFL coach.

Now, though, he’s back to going full tilt. There are no limits. Unless his wife, or his daughter Taylor, who is studying to be a naturopathic doctor, tell him to pump the brakes on his lifestyle.

“Just because I feel good now, I can’t take it for granted, not with something like this,’’ he said. “So I watch my diet — no sugar; cancer loves sugar — exercise, getting my rest, all those kinds of things. I’ve still got to check in (with Cripe) every three months for the next two years, still got to take my medicine.

“I’m at my normal pace. Obviously my wife and daughter are keeping a close eye on me, monitoring me. Tina’s great. She’s got all the vitamins and everything else I’m supposed to take. Between the two of them, they’re going to make sure I eat right and get my rest.’’

When Pagano arrived in Indianapolis, he was just a football coach. Today, he is a beacon of hope for those who are dealing with or who have dealt with cancer. Whenever he has the time, he acts as a spokesman regarding the disease.

During his recovery, he met hundreds of people, scores of families, who were dealing with the same issues he was fighting. Some of them survived, and have maintained an email correspondence since. Some, sadly, did not survive.

The trip to San Francisco gave Pagano another chance to reach out to a fellow cancer survivor.

His name is Aldo Nunez, a 45-year-old father of four sons who lives in Calistoga, Calif. Nunez, who owns a pizzeria in the Napa Valley, was diagnosed with precisely the same kind of leukemia just two weeks after Pagano was diagnosed. He is a hardcore 49ers fan, but followed Pagano’s story from afar, feeling a kinship with him from 2,300 miles away. He, too, is in remission.

Shortly after his own diagnosis, he reached out to Pagano, whose assistant, Shawn Terlecky, sent an autographed picture. But more, Terlecky promised Nunez if he ever got out to Indianapolis, the Colts would get him a ticket and a field pass to meet Pagano.

Then the Friday before the game at San Francisco, Nunez got a call from Colts. They remembered his story. They set him and his family up with tickets and field passes at Candlestick.

As Pagano walked out onto the field for pregame, Nunez was there to meet him. Nearby, one of his sons held up a sign reading, “My Dad and Coach Pagano both beat cancer.’’

They embraced. Several times.

“He was tearing, I was tearing,’’ Nunez said. “I said, ‘Coach, I hope you’re doing well.’ He said, ‘Don’t worry about me, I hope you’re doing well.’ It was truly humbling. Wow. A big 49er fans will now carry the ChuckStrong and the Coltstrong with me forever.

“When we were hugging, he said, ‘We’re in this together.’ Again, here’s a guy, he’s a public figure and he’s talking to me like that with tears in his eyes. And the look on my wife’s and boys’ faces to have this gentleman show this kind of emotion toward somebody he doesn’t know is beyond words.’’

While Nunez’s wife and children wore 49ers jerseys to the game, Aldo wore a Colts jersey.

“How could I not root for that man, especially after what he just did for me and my family?’’ he asked.

Said Pagano on Wednesday: “Nobody should have to battle this disease alone. Whatever I can do to give back the support I got, that the city gave me, now I have a platform and an opportunity to give back.

“I wouldn’t have it any other way.’’

Bob Kravitz is a columnist for The Indianapolis Star. Call him at (317) 444-6643 or email bob.kravitz@indystar.com. Follow Bob on Twitter at @bkravitz.